What's in a Name?
by Arderyd
Summary: Josef finally opens up to his friend Mick St John about his family's dark history.


**Title:** What's in a Name?  
**Author:** Arderyd  
**Rating:** R (explicit content / mature subject matter / strong violence / language)  
**Fandom / Pairing:** Moonlight / BFFs Mick St John & Josef Konstantin  
**Disclaimer:** The following productions & characters are not associated with me: CBS, Moonlight: the series & its creators. Alex O'Loughlin and Jason Dohring don't belong to me. Do not archive or repost without contacting me. Story © 2007 D. M. Cotto.  
**Spoilers:** None that I know of.  
**Summary:** Josef finally opens up to his friend Mick about his family's dark history.  
**Feedback / Flames:** Yes please. / Keep them to yourself.  
**Beta-Editor:** Ariadne Elise-- you rock!  
**A/N:** This comes from some vampire research I was doing with my beta, into the real history of Elizabeth Báthory. (Some knowledge about the Báthorys is preferable, but not indispensable, when reading this fic.) That and I was bored at work --very bored.

_**What's in a Name?  
**_By: Arderyd

Holding back the heavy silk drapes, Josef stared at the portrait on the wall. He'd carried it about for close to 400 years from castle to hovel to leaking slave ship to shack to mansion. It showed its age and travels. It would never be considered a great work of art. But he'd been young when he'd painted it, barely twelve; a gift for his mother. The girl in the portrait was sixteen when she had sat for him, after he'd begged her for months. Her name was Jusztina, his sister. She'd died the following year, giving birth to a monstrous child conceived in rape.

With a growl Josef drank the rest of the blood in his wine goblet fast. He let the curtain drop over the portrait again. Jusztina had never been considered a great beauty, but her quiet and sweet ways had won more than her fair share of admirers. Including Benedek, the Bastard's.

"Are you ever going to tell me about her?" a soft voice asked.

Josef turned and raised an eyebrow at Mick St. John who sat in a wingback chair not far from the fire. Mick was busy staring out at the night sky. Josef hadn't heard him come in. How long had he been there?

Josef shrugged. "That's my sister Jusztina, when she was 16." He sat next to Mick and offered the young vampire a drink.

"I didn't know you had a sister."

Josef snorted. "Actually I had three. Jusztina was eldest, then Irmé, and last and certainly least was Szimonetta. I had brothers too, parents, a whole family even."

Mick stared at his old friend. Despite his young appearance, Mick had never seen his friend as anything but old and wise. But more like an institution, something whose presence had always been there, unquestionable, unmovable and unchangeable.

Josef grinned, Mick's surprise amused him. "Of course that was back when I was human. And that was a long time ago."

Mick nodded and sipped his blood. "So why do you keep her hidden?"

Josef sighed. "She was very shy. She hated to be the center of attention; it took me forever to get her to agree for the portrait. She agreed only because it was to be a present for our mother. Mother promised to keep it her bedchamber where only family would see it. She'd be mortified if I put it out for display."

Mick nodded and smiled a bit. "Oh. Well good. You are honoring her memory. I was afraid there was some deep dark secret that you were carrying around."

At this Josef laughed bitterly. "She died today, 406 years ago, she died. She was always delicate, and the labor was too much. She died screaming, as the monster inside clawed its way out."

Mick again stared at his friend in sympathy. "I'm sorry for your loss." Josef remained quiet. "What about the baby?"

Josef scowled. "The monster? It was deformed, hunched, two twisted stumps for feet, six fingers in each hand and a tail. Red and wailing. I had the servants take it out to the forest, leave it to the elements. It died. I had the body burnt."

Josef turned to Mick's horrified gaze. "You killed your nephew?"

"Niece actually," Josef corrected, "it wouldn't have lived long anyway. The villagers were a superstitious lot; they would have demanded its death before long."

"But your sister… and she was your niece..."

"Jusztina didn't live long after it was born, it had done too much damage, and it was a breach baby. She didn't even see it, she'd passed out. She never woke up long enough to see the monster she had brought into the world. She didn't want the baby. She had prayed for death every day since…."

Mick stood stock still, Josef had never opened up like this before had never revealed this much of his past. Josef seemed lost in thought. Then, as if reaching a conclusion, he shrugged.

"Jusztina was a sweet girl. A little slow, now a day I guess she would be considered to have had a mild case of retardation. When she was sixteen, a few weeks after that portrait was finished actually, we had our cousin come visit. My mother's brother's youngest son Benedek. He'd gotten in some trouble back in Castle Ecsed and he was sent to us to let things calm down. For the times he was a good looking man, at least 5'11, blonde, blue eyed, and wide shouldered. He was loud and mean. The minute he arrived Jusztina was repulsed by him. Szimonetta, that Bitch was smitten. I was only twelve and even though I was the eldest brother and legally in charge, house head since my father's death, he ignored me."

Mick stayed quiet, wanting to hear more.

"He was charming to my mother. Treated her with utmost deference and care to her face, ridiculing her when her back was turned. Only Szimonetta was entranced. Jusztina disliked and feared him. Irmé disliked him immensely as well. My brohter's were still in the nursery and saw little of him. Benedek was drawn to Jusztina, I think … I think that he was such an evil man that her goodness it called to him. It drove him mad that she refused all his advances. It drove Szimonetta mad with jealousy that he wanted Jusztina and not her. Then one night, one night the Bitch, she drugged Irmé's tea and smuggled Benedek into their bedroom. She stood guard at the door and let him in to rape Jusztina. I heard a commotion and pushed pass her. But before I could help my sister Szimonetta had knocked me out with a candlestick. By the time I came to it was too late. Benedek and Szimonetta had escaped during the night and Jusztina was ruined. She… she never recovered from the attack... never... it destroyed her. As for the Bastard and the Bitch, well they told his father that Jusztina was a libertine, free with her favors to all the men around, including her little brother, that she had seduced him and cried foul out of jealousy when he declared that it was Szimonetta whom he loved and wanted to marry. Of course they were believed. By the time our accusations followed them back it was too late."

"There was nothing I could do other than defend Jusztina with words. But it all came down to he-said/she-said. It was hard for people to believe that Szimonetta was capable of helping in the ruin of her sister, marry the man that had attacked her. Then…when we realized that Jusztina was pregnant, it all broke my mother's spirits. Thankfully Irmé was strong. She helped me organize. She helped me with the paperwork to have Szimonetta disinherited. She received no dowry and received none of the lands that would have been hers. She was left penniless and at the mercy of my Uncle. Benedek of course had no desire to marry her really, and never did. She became his mistress, he kept her and used her, until eventually he tired of her. My Uncle, I like to think he realized what had really happened. Then, he could hardly acknowledge that he had been tricked, after all that had been publicly said, so he gave her a stipend to live on. A very small stipend, and to a selfish bitch like her it was nowhere near enough. She then became a high priced prostitute. Never a courtesan to the upper classes though. The knowledge of what she had done to her own sister kept them away, but for the merchant class she was good enough." Josef stopped talking, Mick was unsure of what to say to such a monstrous tale.

"Revenge took me another twelve years. I finally ran into my cousin again, in Târgoviste, a family reunion of sorts. I knew he'd be there. I followed him in the dark, into a tavern, bribed the wench to keep handing him mugs; followed him again when he turned into an alley. I jumped him. I went at him all fists and kicks, he went down, and he was in no shape. Then I took out my knife. It was a special knife, one I'd had made for the occasion. One stab was not enough, I let years of frustration and grief over my sister just pour into me. By the time I was done, his face was unrecognizable, he was basically in ribbons. I stood and fell back, and I watched as the dogs ate what was left."

Mick had stopped pretending to breathe. He stared at his friend in horror and fascination.

"After a while, I don't know how long, I moved. I staggered down the alley. I was drenched in blood." Josef chuckled mirthlessly. "I never even saw the vampire."

"Vampire?"

"I was turned that night. The vampire had been following my cousin, thought Dracula's capital city was a great place to turn a member of my family. The name was somewhat notorious. But he figured one was the same as another and well my attack made me much more attractive"

"Konstantin?"

Josef smirked, "No. We took that name in order to dissociate ourselves from the stigma, after Erzsbét's trial and all the notoriety."

"So what's your real last name?"

Josef grinned widely. "Báthory."


End file.
